The present invention relates to roadway safety barriers, particularly to a roadway safety system having both a vehicle guardrail barrier and a pedestrian handrail. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pedestrian handrail system for attaching to vehicle semi-rigid guardrail system.
Roadway guardrail systems or crash barriers are commonly installed along highways and roads to protect any vehicles accidently leaving the road, and/or prevent them from crashing directly onto pavements, surrounding roads, or oncoming traffic. Several existing guardrail systems are designed to help absorb and dissipate some of the vehicle's energy as it impacts the barrier. This is achieved by the combination of tensile, flexible rails and the bending or shearing resistance of support posts. Impact energy may additionally be absorbed by movable or frangible components (and/or joints between components) which absorb energy as they fracture, move or deform.
An example of a guardrail system with rails which are designed help to absorb and dissipate impact energy is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,485.
As guardrail systems are frequently installed between a road and a pavement, an object of the present invention is to improve pedestrian safety by providing a pedestrian vehicle barrier (PVB) system. The present PVB system comprises a handrail system incorporated with vehicle guardrail systems. The handrail attachment may also include fence bars or panels for increased safety, for example to prevent young children and animals from accessing the road.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a handrail attachment system for vehicle guardrail systems which does not unduly interfere with the ability of the vehicle guardrail system to dissipate impact energy and perform as intended.
It is a further object to provide a handrail system for retro-fitting existing guardrail installation.